We consider a rather general class of mathematical programming problems with data uncertainty, where the uncertainty set is represented by a system of convex inequalities. We prove that the robust counterparts of this class of problems can be equivalently reformulated as finite and explicit optimization problems. Moreover, we develop simplified reformulations for problems with uncertainty … Read more
Inventory management traditionally assumes the precise knowledge of the underlying demand distribution and a risk-neutral manager. New product introduction does not fit this framework because (i) not enough information is available to compute probabilities and (ii) managers are generally risk-averse. In this work, we analyze the value of information for two-stage inventory management in a … Read more
We propose tractable replenishment policies for a multi-period, single product inventory control problem under ambiguous demands, that is, only limited information of the demand distributions such as mean, support and deviation measures are available. We obtain the parameters of the tractable replenishment policies by solving a deterministic optimization problem in the form of second order … Read more
We present experimental results on portfolio optimization problems with return errors under the robust optimization framework. We use several a histogram-like model for return deviations, and a model that allows correlation among errors, together with a cutting-plane algorithm which proves effective for large, real-life data sets. Citation Columbia Center for Financial Engineering Report 2007-01 Columbia … Read more
In this paper we review the different tractable approximations of individual chance constraint problems using robust optimization on a varieties of uncertainty set, and show their interesting connections with bounds on the condition-value-at-risk CVaR measure popularized by Rockafellar and Uryasev. We also propose a new formulation for approximating joint chance constrained problems that improves upon … Read more
The robust portfolio selection problems have recently been studied by several researchers (e.g., see \cite{GoIy03,ErGoIy04,HaTu04,TuKo04}). In their work, the “separable” uncertainty sets of the problem parameters (e.g., mean and covariance of the random returns) were considered. These uncertainty sets share two common drawbacks: i) the actual confidence level of the uncertainty set is unknown, and … Read more
Robust Optimization is a rapidly developing methodology for handling optimization problems affected by non-stochastic “uncertain-but-bounded” data perturbations. In this paper, we overview several selected topics in this popular area, specifically, (1) recent extensions of the basic concept of {\sl robust counterpart} of an optimization problem with uncertain data, (2) tractability of robust counterparts, (3) links … Read more
Stochastic programming with step decision rules, SPSDR, is an attempt to overcome the curse of computational complexity of multistage stochastic programming problems. SPSDR combines several techniques. The first idea is to work with independent experts. Each expert is confronted with a sample of scenarios drawn at random from the original stochastic process. The second idea … Read more
Achieving a targeted objective, goal or aspiration level are relevant aspects of decision making under uncertainties. We develop a goal driven stochastic optimization model that takes into account an aspiration level. Our model maximizes the shortfall aspiration level criterion}, which encompasses the probability of success in achieving the goal and an expected level of under-performance … Read more
Stochastic programming, despite its immense modeling capabilities, is well known to be computationally excruciating. In this paper, we introduce a unified framework of approximating multiperiod stochastic programming from the perspective of robust optimization. Specifically, we propose a framework that integrates multistage modeling with safeguarding constraints. The framework is computationally tractable in the form of second … Read more